Processor of the Month: Cecil Barnes, The Shrimp Man

Name: Cecil Barnes

Name of Business: Shrimp by the Pound

Business Address: 2417 Schillinger Road, Mobile, AL on Wednesday through Sunday

Business Phone Number: 251-709-3902

Website: facebook.com/TheShrimpMan

Alabama Gulf Seafood that your business processes: Shrimp, Fish, Crabmeat, and Oysters

Where were you born and raised?

Bayou La Batre, Alabama.

How did you come to work in Alabama’s seafood industry?

My family was in the industry and I was raised around it. I started shrimping and in 2002 decided to start selling from my truck. I know all of my customers by name. They’re more like my friends.

What types of seafood do you process/handle?

Shrimp, fish, crabmeat, and oysters.

What does your typical workday involve?

I get up at about 5am each day and my day doesn’t end until 8 or 9 at night. I am selling out of my truck from 7:30am until 4 pm, and when I get home I head, bag, and process the shrimp for the next day. My wife likes to say that I’m OCD about the quality of my product.

What makes your company/organization stand out within Alabama’s seafood industry?

I have been described to have a good, clean product. Since I have been in the industry all my life, I know what to buy and what not to buy. Some joke and say I am too particular, but I want to give the public a good product.

What’s your favorite seafood dish to serve up for yourself and your family?

Since I handle seafood so much, my family and I may only eat it every two or three months. When we do eat it, we enjoy fried shrimp.

What makes Alabama Gulf Seafood special?

It’s the best! It is a good product.

What is your favorite band/musician?

I listen to the oldies station on the radio.

Auburn or Alabama?

Alabama.

If you didn’t work in the Alabama seafood industry, what line of work would you pursue?

I was raised in the seafood business. It’s the only thing I would want to do or see myself doing.